Vigil held for Willis teen killed in accident

Nearly 100 friends and family members of Toni Lynn, Taylor, 19, take part in a candlelight vigil Tuesday night off of FM 1484 and Cedar Lane Road.

Nearly 100 friends and family members of Toni Lynn, Taylor, 19, take part in a candlelight vigil Tuesday night off of FM 1484 and Cedar Lane Road.

Photo: Staff Photo By Eric Swist

Photo: Staff Photo By Eric Swist

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Nearly 100 friends and family members of Toni Lynn, Taylor, 19, take part in a candlelight vigil Tuesday night off of FM 1484 and Cedar Lane Road.

Nearly 100 friends and family members of Toni Lynn, Taylor, 19, take part in a candlelight vigil Tuesday night off of FM 1484 and Cedar Lane Road.

Photo: Staff Photo By Eric Swist

Vigil held for Willis teen killed in accident

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Family, friends and classmates gathered at the site of a horrific accident Tuesday to honor and remember a Willis teen who died there over the weekend.

Nearly 100 friends and family members of Toni Lynn Taylor, 19, showed up to the emotional candlelight vigil off of FM 1484 and Cedar Lane Road with flowers, stuffed animals, photos and albums to console the family and each other for the tragic loss of life.

“She was such a beautiful girl - inside as well as outside,” said her mother Nona Isbell. “She always thought of others - she lit up the room whenever you saw her.”

The one-vehicle accident took place around 3 a.m. Saturday morning. Investigators believe Taylor had been driving too fast on the country road and lost control of the vehicle, veering off the road and into a ditch.

Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Lanny Moriarty said Taylor’s truck struck a culvert and rolled over, ejecting her from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

“We don’t know all the circumstances, but it appears she was not wearing her seatbelt,” said Gladis Isbell, her aunt. “This is all so sad; she was such a wonderful young woman.”

Taylor, a 2012 graduate of Willis High School, was planning to enroll in college in January to study to become a medical assistant, said her mother. She was scheduled to start a new job at Ulta in the Conroe Marketplace shopping center on Monday.

“We had to let them know what happened,” said her mother. “It’s so sad. She had so much ahead of her.”

Taylor’s boyfriend, Nick Goodwin, had been with Toni on Friday evening prior to the fateful crash. He said he arrived at the scene of the accident approximately 30 minutes after it had happened.

“She was always happy and had a smile for everyone,” said Goodwin. “She had trust in God and was a wonderful person.”

Goodwin’s father Jaime echoed his son’s sentiment, saying the family had welcomed Taylor into their homes and their lives. Her death was a loss to the community as well as the family, Goodwin said.